


Einstein´s causality

by NYWCgirl



Category: White Collar
Genre: Alternate Universe, Blackmail, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Poisoning, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-27
Updated: 2015-02-27
Packaged: 2018-03-15 11:42:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3445847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NYWCgirl/pseuds/NYWCgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Peter is blackmailed, Neal suffers the consequences. Will Peter be able to keep Neal out of trouble and save him?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Einstein´s causality

**Author's Note:**

> This story describes the death of a major character, but remember, this is a time travel story...  
> It was written for the February challenge of the h/c bingo. Thanks to the prompt and beta of Sheenianni, who did a wonderful job under time pressure.
> 
> For pictures, please check out my LJ.

_Tuesday May 11 th 2010_

It was a normal day at the office, or so it seemed. Neal was sure that Peter had the U-boat manifest hidden somewhere in his office and he needed a moment alone to look for it.

When Peter was called in a meeting with Hughes, something to do with a mob boss the FBI was after, Neal walked into Peter’s office and started surveying the office for something that stood out and could contain the manifest. Suddenly, his eye fell on Peter’s mail and he saw a manila envelope. Opening it carefully, he reached inside the envelope. When he pulled the letter out, there was some sort of powder on his fingertips… Brushing it off quickly on his pants, he looked at the letter.

Shit… Neal stared at the note. He felt a flush reach his face and his pulse was picking up pace. OK, there was nothing to be worried about. It was probably a bad prank.

Ha ha. Peter probably just wanted to let him know that he was on to Neal trying to get to the manifest. He should have known Peter was only waiting for him to look for the document, but this was low even with their current lack of trust. Well, point to Peter – he got him. Where was Peter anyway?

Neal wanted to stuff the note back in the envelope, when he heard something. He turned around to see what the sound was and noticed his vision blurring a bit. It turned out to be Peter who had left the meeting next door. He would see that Neal had taken the note out of the envelope. He was caught red handed. Their relationship had been overly complicated ever since Neal had shouted to Peter to prove that he had taken the treasure, and now, here he was, with his hand in the cookie jar. He needed to make up an excuse and fast.

“Hey Neal, why… What do you have there?” Peter asked curiously as he took in Neal’s obviously guilty expression. Whatever was in Neal’s hands, he hadn’t seen it before. At the same Peter felt his anger building. He had turned his back for a few moments and Neal was going through his mail. He had known that Neal was still looking for the manifest. If he didn’t have the treasure himself, than someone close to Neal, probably Haversham.

“It’s a…” Neal’s voice trailed off, when he felt that his fingers started tingling, it quickly extended up his arm and his shoulder. He had trouble focusing and his body had an unpleasant numbness. He felt confused as to what was going on and felt it difficult to breath. The headache that had come without warning was so bad that he felt like he was going to pass out.

“Neal?”

Neal wanted to show Peter the letter but his knees buckled and he went down, hitting his head on Peter’s desk before Peter could catch him.

“Neal!”

Peter eased Neal onto the ground, loosening his tie. He immediately called out for Diana, who came rushing into the office. Before Peter could tell her to, he heard her calling for EMTs. Peter checked for a pulse and noticed Neal´s breathing was very shallow.

“Come on, Neal, stay with me.” He kept his fingers on Neal ´s carotid artery, afraid that if he took his fingers off of it, he would lose Neal.

While he was reassuring Neal, his eyes fell on the note Neal had been holding. It was still in his hand. Peter saw it was some sort of threatening note. He called out to Diana to call in ERT. Before the paramedics were on the scene, the ERT guys entered the office and Peter was pulled away. The letter Neal was still holding disappeared into an evidence bag.

 

At that same moment, paramedics walked into Peter’s office and started working on Neal. First by checking his vitals and then addressing his head wound from slamming into the desk. His breathing was getting worse and they decided to intubate him on scene. Neal was quickly loaded on a gurney. The Paramedics called out that they are going to Lower Manhattan Hospital.

While Peter looked dazed around in the office, the ERTs told him to leave the crime scene and he walked out. He wanted to go with Neal to the hospital, but he was held back by one of the ERT agents, who showed him the note.

When Peter saw what the note said, he grew very still. Then he called Diana and told her to accompany him, but he didn’t her where they were going. He would need someone that could keep him in check because he was seeing red before his eyes.

 

When they arrived at the detention center, Peter demanded to see Damiano Albero. They took them to an interview room. Peter paced the room as precious time was ticking away. He wanted to go the hospital to see how Neal was doing. He was just about to ask Diana to call and check on Neal, when Damiano was led in by the guard. He had a big smirk on his face and looked defiantly at Peter.

 

“You, son of a …” Peter launched at Damiano

”Peter!” Diana jumped in between them , holding Peter´s arms. Peter was brought back to Earth in that moment, as he realized was he was about to do. He would just have played into the mob boss´s hand.

“You OK, boss?” asked Diana quietly.

“Yeah… Yeah, I´m fine.” Peter took a deep breath. If he assaulted the man, the guards would toss them out and they would learn nothing.

“What did you give him, Albero?”

“What are you talking about? I have been here for the last couple of weeks.” The mob boss had a disappointed look on his face. Clearly the agent had not touched the note.

“You know exactly. what I ‘m talking about. You had one of your goons send me a letter. One of my people touched it. What poison did you use?”

“I don´t know what you are talking about, but I guess it would be a fast acting poison, wouldn´t it?” The mob boss smiled deviously. “You should probably say goodbye to your friend while you still have the time.”

“Peter!” Diana had to hold him back again while Peter got himself under control. “He’s just baiting you. He won’t tell us anything.”

Peter took a deep breath. “You’re right. This is a waste of time.”

“Are we done yet?” asked Albero with barely hidden glee.

“Oh, we haven´t even started. You will go down for this, even if it is the last thing I do,” Peter promised. He suddenly needed to see Neal.

“Diana, let´s go.”

 

* * *

 

Diana drove Peter to hospital as she decided that he was in no shape to drive himself. When they entered the ER, she showed her badge and asked for Neal. The duty nurse told her that they were working on him and that a doctor would come out to brief them when there was news. In the meanwhile they could fill in the paperwork for Neal.

Diana took the papers and she and Peter sat down to deal with the documents. But before long, Peter stood up again and started pacing the room.

“He will be fine.” Peter tried to convince himself.

“Peter, I don’t know how to answer some of these, do you?” Diana looked at her boss with concern. She could see the anxiety building up in him.

“Yeah, give them to me, I will fill them in.” Peter took a deep breath and felt for his pen in his jacket.

He was still busy with the admittance papers when a doctor came out calling for the Caffrey family. Diana and Peter jumped up and the doctor walked up to them.

“Please follow me.” The doctor said in a kind but sad voice. Peter’s gut tightened while he followed the doctor. This couldn’t be good.

 

When they arrived in a private waiting room, the doctor gestured for them to sit down. But Peter stubbornly kept standing. He needed that bit of control.

“How is he doing? Will he be alright?”

“You are related to mister Caffrey?” The doctor looked a bit skeptical.

“No, we´re not family, but I am Neal’s medical proxy, I can have the documents send over if you need to see them. Just tell us, how bad is it?”

“No, that is fine. We will take care of the paperwork on a later moment in time. But I’m sorry to…”

“No…, please… don’t say it.” Peter’s voice broke; he made a choking sound trying to withhold the sob that tried to get free.

“We did everything we could, but Mister Caffrey’s body was too weak to fight the unknown poison. I’m really sorry.”

Peter started swaying on his feet; it felt like the floor had been pulled from underneath him. The sinking feeling increasing until… the doctor and Diana grabbed him by the arms and guiding him down on a chair. Peter felt physically ill. Neal couldn’t be dead; he always had a backup plan. He couldn’t be dead. They hadn’t been on the best of terms the last couple of weeks, but Neal didn’t deserve this.

Peter hadn’t noticed that the doctor had left the room and came back in water a cup of water. Peter accepted it gratefully and drank slowly.

 

“Can we see him?” Diana managed to ask.

“Yes, of course. The nurses are cleaning up the ER; once they are ready, they will come and get you so you can say your goodbyes. If you need to call mister Caffrey´s family members, please do so now.” The doctor looked concerned at Peter.

“Shall I give you some time? We can discuss the arrangements that need to be taken on a later moment.”

“No, please, just let´s get this over with,” said Diana to the doctor.

“I know you don´t want to hear this at this moment, but as mister Caffrey didn´t die of natural causes, we will need to perform an autopsy. I would recommend that you visit the body before autopsy takes place. Afterwards, you will only be able to visit the morgue, until the body is released for burial.”

Peter just stared in front of him, he didn’t say anything, he didn’t move. Diana was also shocked about the news, but she knew that arrangements had to be made and she wanted to support Peter. She walked over to the water cooler and filled another cup, giving it to Peter, who just held it. They just sat in the room, each with their own thoughts.

 

When Peter’s telephone rang, he made no attempt to answer it. Diana took the phone out of his pocket and answered it. When she disconnected the line, Peter looked up at her, numb and broken.

“That was Dirk from ERT. They identified the poison. It was Aconite, better known as Wolfsbane. Aconite toxin is absorbed easily through the skin. They also found a partial fingerprint, they are analyzing it now. ”

Peter nodded and stood up. “Can you please contact June, and ask her if she has a way to contact Mozzie, I need some fresh air and to call El.”

“Sure.” Diana looked worried, but understood that Peter needed to be alone to gather himself and to talk to El in private.

With a heavy heart, she watched Peter walk away. Then she dialed June’s number and waited for her to answer.

 

* * *

 

When Peter left the hospital through a side entrance, standing in the midday sun, he could barely see through his tears, but he didn´t hold them back. While his grief felt like a physical pain, he also started getting angry. How had he let this happen? He had been blackmailed for a week now. The first letter had demanded that Peter dropped his testimony in a case against Damiano Albero, a local Mob boss, who liked to take care of his opponents with an axe. The FBI hadn’t been able to prove anything, until the White collar unit had become involved and they found proof that Albero had tempered with some taxes. When they got the warrant to search his home and offices, they found more incriminating evidence.

Peter’s testimony could put this guy away for a long time. The moment Peter had received the letter, he had called Hughes and explained the situation. The next person he called was El asking her to meet him for lunch. He had explained to her that they were both in danger and that she would get a protection detail. She hadn’t been happy with being guarded twenty four hours a day, but as long as it gave Peter peace of mind and it wouldn’t interfere with her work, she was OK with it. Peter had made sure that El was safe, and he thought that Neal would be safe as he was with him most of the time. He had never thought the blackmailer would be so bold as to send a poisoned letter to the federal building. The letter was intended for him. He should be the one who was lying in the morgue. Neal wasn’t supposed to be involved in this matter. Hell, he didn’t even know about the case. Peter had worked for Ruiz’s team when they brought down this guy.

And now Neal was dead, because Peter had been too careless. Peter felt empty. How could it have all gone so wrong so fast?

Somehow, he managed to call Elizabeth’s number.

“Hon…” Peter´s voice broke.

“Peter? _What is wrong?”_ El sounded scared. “Are you alright?”

“Yes… No, I´m not. Neal, he….”

El could hear Peter holding back a sob.

“ _What Peter, what is wrong with Neal, was he hurt?”_

“Can you come to the hospital? I will send an agent to pick you up.”

“ _Peter, it will be OK.”_

“I´ll see you soon.”

Peter then called Jones to tell him the devastating news. He then asked him to pick up El and bring her over to Lower Manhattan Hospital. He would fill them in when they got there.

With the phonecalls out of the way, Peter slowly made his way back into the hospital.

 

* * *

 

Mozzie, El, June and Peter were standing in the ER room. Neal was resting on the examination table where the medical team had tried to save his life. His body was covered with a sheet, the intubation tube still sticking out of his mouth, although it was disconnected from the system. The nurse had explained that it would be removed by the coroner when he did his medical examination. If one didn’t know better, Neal almost looked asleep. El and June were crying softly and Peter’s eyes were red, but he felt he had to be the strong one now. Mozzie just weaseled his way out of the room once he had seen Neal’s body.

After saying their goodbyes, El, June and Peter left the room and were informed that they were welcome to visit Neal’s body in the morgue until the funeral parlor would collect the body for burial or cremation. June turned to Peter and told him, she would take care of the funeral and if he knew of Neal had specific wishes. Peter just shook his head and told her to ask Mozzie. June touched Peter’s arm and left they without saying anything.

El drove them back to Brooklyn and they sort of sat dazed in their living room until it was time to go to bed. El coaxed Peter to the bed and placed an extra quilt n the bed to add weight and comfort. She then snuggled behind him. giving him the opportunity to grieve. When she felt him starting to shake, she held him closer and started crying as well. Eventually Peter cried himself to sleep.

 

* * *

 

_Wednesday May 12 th 2010_

The next morning Peter woke up to find El already downstairs. Peter had this blissful moment where he thought it was all a bad dream and then reality hit him, Neal was dead. He suppressed a sob and quickly made his way to the bathroom.

He took a quick shower and went downstairs following his nose. They hadn’t eaten yesterday evening and his stomach was growling.

He walked to the mail box to see if his newspaper had arrived but instead he found a note. This time, they didn’t even put it in an envelope. But Peter snapped on a glove he had in his coat pocket for whenever he had to touch evidence and turned the note.

 

He wanted to crumple the note, but knew he had to contain himself, as the note was evidence, even if the chance was slim; there could be some evidence on it.

But how dare they send a new note? They had murdered his best friend. He was going to find the people involved and rip their throats out.

He breathed through his nose, to get a grip on himself. He walked over to his briefcase and took out an evidence bag and put the note in. He then called Diana.

“I’ve received a new note.” Peter closed his briefcase, so El wouldn’t see it, as she was in the kitchen when he went out.

“ _I’m on my way boss.”_

“No, don’t bother, I’ll bring it to the office.”

“ _You are coming into the office?”_

“Yes, I have to find who did this. It won´t bring him back, but I have to do something.”

Peter tried to eat something, but he couldn’t get anything down, so he drank his coffee, and said goodbye to El, giving her a quick kiss.

“Are you going to the office?” Peter asked El.

“No, I’m going to June’s, so we can make the arrangements.” El stopped talking as she felt the tears burning behind her eyes. Peter felt his throat close up again. He gave her a hug, so he didn´t have to look into her eyes.

“Of course, I will pick you up at June’s later today, alright.”

“Yeah, that would be nice.”

Peter quickly left the house and drove to work.

 

* * *

 

 

“Do we have any idea who the blackmailer is?” Hughes asked.

Peter was pacing the conference room and looking at all the agents assembled there. The atmosphere was grim as Hughes had informed the office of Neal’s sudden death.

Peter told the team what had happened the last couple of days and showed them the notes he had received before and which he had send to ERT.

Hughes told Peter that the team would investigate the leads but that he had to get Elizabeth to a safe house. With that, Peter and Jones left to pick up El at June’s.

 

* * *

 

When Peter heard his phone ring, he almost didn’t pick it up. But at the last moment he decided otherwise and answered it.

“Burke”

“ _Suit_.”

“Mozzie, how can I help you?” Peter sounded tired, sad, defeated was a better word.

“ _Peter, I have to tell you something_.” Mozzie paused.

“I’m not in the mood, Mozzie, what is it? I…”

“ _Peter, I think I can undo the last 24 hours_.”

It took a while for Peter to realize what Mozzie had just said.

“What do you mean? Neal is dead, Mozzie, dead, he is not coming back. You saw his body in the hospital.” Peter’s voice picked up in strength.

“ _What if I tell you, we can go back in time and prevent Neal from opening the envelope_?” asked Mozzie expectantly.

“How dare you. I’m not in the mood for your conspiracy theories, time travel is impossible.” Peter disconnected the line. He was too tired for this discussion.

He concentrated on the report that was on his desk from the Evidence team, when Diana walked in, making Peter look up.

“Boss, guess who´s here.” She pointed behind her and Peter followed her line of sight.

It was Mozzie, who was looking around nervously. He was ready to bold out of the office, so Peter stood up and gestured to Mozzie to come over. Maybe he shouldn´t have hung up on Mozzie, he was grieving too, maybe even more.

“Suit, you hung up on me, but please listen to me for a couple of minutes.”

Peter looked at Mozzie and could see the shadows under his eyes, he hadn´t slept last night, that was for sure. How could he be so selfish? Neal was Mozzie´s best friend, more like a brother.

“I know you are hurting, I can´t wrap my head around the fact that I will never see Neal again, I miss him already.”

“I told you, Suit, I know a way to travel back in time and save Neal.”

“Really ? Time travel is impossible, I read Time Travel in Einstein´s universe.”

“ _Is it_?” Mozzie questioned.

Peter shook his head. “Mozzie…”

“Do you think I’d be so cruel to come to you if I wasn’t sure?” Mozzie’s voice broke. “ We have to try this, Peter.”

Peter listened more intently; something in the man’s voice had caught his attention. Maybe it was just his grief talking. He wanted Neal back so badly, he was willing to listen to Mozzie’s ridicilous ramblings.

“Spill.”

“What if I have knowledge of the existence of a time machine?”

“Mozzie, I’m not in the mood. Please tell me you’re kidding.”

“No, I’m most certainly not. I don’t kid with the lives of my friends.”

Mozzie started explaining that he had found out that there was a time travelling machine in one of the government evidence warehouses.

“I know where they are storing the machine. If we would go there, we can go back in time and prevent Neal from opening the envelope. I know the location and the file number it was stored under, so it shouldn’t be that hard to find it.

“So why come to me? Why didn´t you just go to the warehouse and prevented it? I mean, you love consipiracy theories.” Then it dawned on Peter. “You already tried to get into the building.”

Mozzie looked like a deer caught in headlights.

“Allegedly, I may already have tried, but it is almost impossible to get in. I was allegedly happy to get away unidentified.”

“So, that is why you came to me, you think because I am a federal employee that I can get into the warehouse. You know it doesn´t work that way.”

“But it does, Suit. I checked, there are some evidence boxes from a case you worked.”

“Which case would that be?”

“Neal´s…” Mozzie stopped talking.

They both sat there for a while, until Diana came in and gave them both a coffee and left them alone again.

“OK, so you are saying that Neal´s evidence boxes were transferred to that particular warehouse?”

“Yes, they were.”

“That is convenient. You didn´t happen to have anything to do with that, do you?”

“It is possible that Hughes asked for the evidence to be transferred there.” Mozzie looked all innocent.

“You know it is a federal offense to tamper with evidence, do you?” Peter sighed, but he also had to admit, that there would be no better reason to go to the warehouse. Wait, was he even considering this?

But they had nothing to lose. If Mozzie was wrong… well, Peter already knew that Neal wasn’t coming back. But if he was right… What could it hurt to at least check out the warehouse?

No, this was ridiculous.

But Mozzie had already told him where the machine was. If there was even a chance… Squashing down the sudden surge of hope, Peter braced himself for the inevitable disappointment. But his decision had already been made. Even if it was a doomed mission, he had to try to get Neal back.

 

* * *

 

After they agreed to fo to the warehouse, Peter asked Mozzie if he should bring anything. Mozzie replied it would be best if he could think what clothes he had been wearing the last couple of days and to pick those that would help him blend in. Afterwards Peter called El and told her he had to go back to the FBI and that Jones would watch over her. He kissed her and then quickly made his way to his car. He wasn’t surprised that Mozzie was waiting for him.

They got in Peter’s Taurus and drove to the coordinates provided by Mozzie.

Peter parked the car about a half mile of the road that led to the entrance.

“OK, last minutes advice?”

“Try to keep yourself unseen, as theories tell that it is impossible to meet yourself, it would create a paradox. Well, there is a theory that tells us that traveling in time, only means going to other universes, so you can’t change your own universe, you will only make a new universe. But in that theory, you are not able to come home.”

Peter felt a headache building. “OK Mozzie, more words of encouragement?”

“Yeah, have you ever heard of Einstein’s causality?”

“I know that E = mc².”

“No, the Einstein causality states that an effect cannot occur before its cause. Therefore time travel is impossible.”

Peter felt confused and betrayed. “But you just said…”

“I know what I said. I have reliable intel that the time machine that is waiting for you in there, is the real deal. “

“Do you know how it works?” Peter looked at Mozzie expecting an affirmation.

“No, I have never seen it.”

“What… Why do I always…”

“How am I supposed to have all the answers? Suit, let’s go. Call me once you are there and tell me what you are seeing, and we will figure it out.”

“Oh great.”

Mozzie exited the car and Peter drove to the entrance. The guard on duty asked for his ID and badge, and made a visitor’s pass for Peter. He opened the barrier and Peter drove on.

He stopped at the door and saw a badge reader, so he held the badge in front of it and the door quietly clicked open.

As he entered the warehouse, Peter was shocked by the size of it. There had to be thousands and thousands of evidence boxes.

He quickly made his way over to rack 47, stack 12, row 6 and there it was. It just looked like a door, a kind of shiny metal door with a display on the left side. When Peter gingerly touched it, it came to life and he could see that one could enter a date into it.

He entered May 5th 2010, this way he had a couple of days to see what he missed the first time around.

When he grabbed what looked like a doorknob and pushed open the door, there was a bright light and he was standing in front of the door again. So much for time travel. Why had he listened to Mozzie? How had he been so stupid to think he could get Neal back? Neal was dead, he wasn´t coming back. He took a deep breath and tried to focus again. He had to get out of here.

He quickly walked back to the exit, planning on getting in his car and leaving as low key as he could, before someone started asking questions. He would tell Mozzie what he thought about this. How could he have been so stupid to believe Mozzie?

There was also a badge reader to exit the building, so Peter held his badge in front of it, but nothing happened. The red light stayed red. Peter tried again. Nothing.

“Can I help you?” a person behind him asked.

Peter tried not to look too startled, when he turned. “Seems that I am not allowed out.” He showed the man his badge.

“Must be a glitch in the system, no worries, I will let you out.”

The man badged for Peter and Peter thanked him while leaving the warehouse, only to find out that his car was gone.

 

 

He had to leave this place immediately, they were probably on to him by now and had towed his car away.

He wanted to walk up to the entry but didn’t see the forklift that came his way. The driver tried to swerve, almost managing to stay clear from Peter, but still hitting him in the process. Peter only felt an incredible pain when his head slammed into the pavement and then nothing.

 

* * *

 

When Peter regained consciousness, he was on the ground just outside a warehouse. He immediately noticed a nearby forklift whose driver was just exiting his vehicle.

“Wow, stay down sir, you might be hurt.”

“I´m OK, just a bump on the head.”

Peter tried to sit up, but groaned in pain when the room started spinning.

The forklift driver frowned. “Here, let me accompany you to the infirmary.”

“How are you feeling, Agent Burke?” the duty nurse asked a moment later.

“Like I was hit by a truck.”

“Well, it was not a truck, but you were hit by a forklift when you exited the warehouse you were at. Do you know what day it is?

“Wednesday the 12th?”

“Almost, it is the 5th.”

“Of course it is.” Peter lied smiling. The fifth, why would he think it was the twelfth?

“Great, you will be fine, bump on the head,. You need to follow up with your own physician. If the headaches get worse, go to an ER. When you are feeling up to it, you can leave.” The nurse left but not before handing him a cup with water. It was only when he had the cup in his hand that Peter realized how thirsty he was.

“Where is your car? I will accompany you to it.”

Peter smiled. “That´s fine, I was dropped off by a fellow agent. I will take a cab.”

After asking once more if he was okay, the warehouse staff finally left him alone. Waiting for the cab, Peter tried to remember what had happened. How did he end up at the warehouse?

 

* * *

 

“Where to?”

“Home, I guess. Sorry, 4232 DeKalb Avenue, please.” Peter leaned back in the back seat and closed his eyes. He still had some residual headache. He was going to go home, freshen up and then head back to the office.

He startled when the cabbie told him they were there. He paid and got out of the cab, looking at his home. He walked up the steps and opened the front door. Satchmo whined at him, but didn’t approach him like he normally would.

“Hon?” Elizabeth came out of the kitchen and looked surprised. “What are you doing home? Forgot something?”

“No, why?”

“You’re supposed to be at work.”

Peter didn’t want to worry El, so he just lied. “Yeah, I was at a warehouse and got in a sort of collision with a forklift, so I will just freshen up and go back to the office..”

“What, are you OK?” El looked concerned.

“Yeah, I was checked out in the infirmary and I´m fine, just a bump on the head. I will live.”

“Are you sure you are OK? Because Yvonne is picking me up in the minute to go see a location.”

“Yes, I am fine, you go to work. I will call you later.”

He grabbed a quick shower, took some pain pills and by the time he came downstairs, El had left.

Peter’s car was not in front of the house where he remembered parking it. Something fishy was going on. He knew he had to do something important, but for some reason he couldn’t remember what. Damn headache.

He hailed a cab and drove to the Federal building, when he entered, one of the guards called out to him. “I didn’t see you leave agent Burke. Forgot something?”

“What do you mean?”

“You just entered with mister Caffrey.”

“Yeah, sorry, must have slipped by you on my way out.”

What the hell was happening?

Peter walked to the elevators and took the car up to the twenty first floor. When he walked up to the glass door, he stopped death in his tracks. He quickly backed up and frantically started pushing the call button of the elevator.

When the doors opened with a quiet ding, he quickly pushed himself inside between the other agents that were already in the car.

“Hey, watch it.”

“What’s the matter, Burke? Seen a ghost?” one of them asked.

“I’m fine, just needed to get down quickly, got an urgent call. Sorry.”

The doors opened on ground level and Peter quickly made his way out of the building. Had he really seen himself? Yes, he had, he was sure. Maybe he was hit harder in the head than he thought?

He had to calm down and think. Who could he call? Neal was at his desk in the office. Mozzie! Why did he think of Mozzie? For one, Mozzie wouldn´t think he was crazy, but he felt there was another reason. Peter couldn´t explain what it was, but he had a feeling that this was important. He called El.

“ _Hi Hon_ ”

“Hi Hon, I need to contact Mozzie, do you know how to get hold of him?”

“ _Yeah, but he made me promise I wouldn’t give his number to you. I will send him a message that he has to contact you, OK?_ ”

“Yeah, just tell him it is urgent.” Peter looked around himself contemplating what to do next, he had to get away from the Federal building and meet with Mozzie. Before he could move, his phone rang.

“Burke.”

“ _Suit, your lovely wife asked me to call you and she told me that it was urgent_.”

“Yes, it is, where can we meet?”

“ _Now?”_

“Yes, now!”

“ _Is Neal in trouble?”_

“No, not that I know of.” Peter was losing his temper.

“ _OK, meet me at Collect Pond Park on the Lafayette Street side_.”

“Thanks.” Peter disconnected his phone and quickly made his way to the mentioned Park. When he arrived there, Mozzie was already waiting for him. How did he do that?

“Hi Suit, so what is so urgent that you needed to speak with me?”

“Mozzie, I know I will sound crazy, but I guess you are the only one who will believe me.”

“Okaaaay…” Mozzie looked suspicious now.

“Mozzie, I saw myself just a couple of minutes ago. This guy was a dead ringer.”

“Wait, what? You saw yourself?” Mozzie looked excited. “I knew the government had a cloning facility!”

“What? There is no such thing as a cloning facility!”

“OK, Suit, let’s go.” Mozzie grabbed Peter’s arm and pulled him towards a car.

“Wait, where are we going?”

“To Thursday, it is the closest by.”

For a moment, Peter wondered if he really wanted to leave in the middle of the day to go to one of Mozzie’s safe houses, However, Mozzie was looking at him impatiently, and Peter really wanted some answers. Feeling awkward, he followed Mozzie to the car. Mozzie got behind the wheel and drove off.

Once they were inside Thursday, Mozzie ushered Peter to a couch and made some tea.

“OK, Suit, tell me everything from the beginning. When did things started going weird?”

Peter told Mozzie that he had left the evidence warehouse where he had been hit by a forklift. He had made his way to the FBI headquarters, only to find himself seated in his office.

Slowly, Peter watched as Mozzie’s excited expression turned confused and then contemplative.

“You know something,” said Peter in a realization.

“Maybe. Why were you at the warehouse?” Mozzie had this look that he knew something that Peter didn´t. But Mozzie was right. Why had he been at the warehouse?

“It was important, I feel like it is on the tip of my tongue, but for some reason, I can´t remember.”

“Could I have told you to go there?” Mozzie asked.

“What aren´t you telling me?”

“Well, there are rumors that there is a time travelling device in the warehouse.” Mozzie whispered.

“You are telling me I traveled in time?” Peter was losing patience. “Time travel is impossible.”

_Time travel is impossible…_

Peter felt as if someone had just walked over his grave. Something about that conversation was disturbingly familiar.

Mozzie was frowning. “If I told you about the time machine. What could have happened that I told you? It must have been something bad, because I haven’t even told Neal.” Mozzie looked a little lost if not sad by now.

_Time machine… He talked with Mozzie about Einstein’s causality. There had been that shiny metal door. He had entered some numbers, and then…_

Slowly, Peter shook his head. “I don’t remember. I know it is something bad, and it was important enough for you to send me back. I’m sorry.” Peter’s voice getting softer at the end.

“OK, no time to dwell over things that still need to happen. What day do you think it is?”

“I thought it was the 12th of May, but the nurse at the hospital told me it was the 5th.”

“That gives us a week. What can be so important that I told you about this little secret? Maybe someone got hurt? Maybe it was me… Wait… If I sent YOU back, that means something must have happened to Neal. Is that possible?”

Peter had seen Neal sitting at his desk at the office that morning, so he was OK for now. “Maybe, I can’t remember. I…”

“Does your head hurt?” Mozzie gently asked Peter.

“How do you know?”

“You keep squinting your eyes in pain. Here, let me get you some pain meds and rest. I have to do some stuff. I will be back in two hours.” Mozzie got up and grabbed some ibuprofen out of his medical supplies and handed them to Peter with a glass of water.

They were going to get to the bottom of this.

 

* * *

 

Neal had received a cryptic message from Mozzie to meet him during his lunch break. He told Peter he was going out to grab a sandwich. Peter just waved him out, as he was on the phone, so Neal got his hat and made his way to the rendez-vous point.

“What is going on, Moz?”

“I can’t tell you much, only that you have to be careful. I have reason to believe that people are out there to get you. Please watch your back.”

“I will Moz, no problem. I always watch out, you know that. What is so special this time?”

“I will tell you when I can.” Mozzie said goodbye and disappeared into the steady stream of people on the sidewalk.

Neal looked a bit taken aback, but got to the deli and bought both Peter and him a sandwich and some coffee. He would talk to Mozzie later.

 

* * *

 

“NO,” Peter said firmly.

“It is the only way.” Mozzie looked determined.

“There must be another way.” Peter would not willing participate in a crime.

“There is no other way. You need to take this universe Peter and see what happens, if we don’t and you two meet, who knows what happens?”

“Still, I can’t kidnap myself, Mozzie.”

“I will take care of it and keep Peter from this universe with me in one of my safe houses. You know I wouldn’t mistreat you. You will just live this week again and maybe it will trigger something and you can intervene when necessary. It is our best chance.”

Peter knew that Mozzie was right, but still, kidnapping himself? That was a bridge too far. What if he wouldn’t remember what he was here to prevent and it would happen again. There were so many uncertainties.

“I’m still not convinced this is our only option.” Peter already didn’t sound as certain as he had a couple of minutes ago. “Maybe we can send Peter and El on a holiday, you and Neal have done this trick before, haven´t you?”

Mozzie shook his head. “Allegedly, we may have done this before, but it is not a solution. What if someone sees that there are two Peters? The FBI can trace your passport, you know this; you work for the Man.I tell you Peter, it is the only way. How will you explain to yourself if you would meet yourself?”

 

In the end, Peter reluctantly conceded to Mozzie’s plan. “Okay, but we don’t hurt him.” Did he really revert to himself in the third person? This was getting weirder by the minute.

“Of course not, since when did Neal or I ever used violence?” Mozzie almost sounded really hurt.

“You are right, OK, what’s the plan? You do realize that he is a trained federal agent.”

“Leave it to me.” Mozzie grabbed his messenger bad putting all sorts of stuff in it. “I’ll be back.”

 

* * *

 

“ _Let me know when you and Peter leave work_.”

 

Neal looked at his phone. What was Mozzie up to? Strange. he called Mozzie, but he didn’t answer his phone.

He slowly made his way up to Peter’s office, still thinking of Mozzie’s message.

“Hey Peter, when can we head out?”

“Give me a minute, so I can close up. I’m almost ready. Are you coming home with me? El said she would make a good old fashioned meal.”

Peter thought it was best to keep Neal close with him. Neal was still looking for the manifest, so hopefully this way he could prevent Neal from doing something stupid.

“Yeah sure, thanks.” Going with Peter would hopefully give him a change to see whether Peter kept the manifest at home. Being invited wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

 

Neal sent Mozzie a text that they were leaving the building. He was still wondering why Mozzie wanted to know when they were leaving the building.

Peter came down and they both took the elevator towards the garage. They walked up to the car and when the were almost there, Neal got another text message.

_Tell Peter you forgot something and go back to your desk._

What are you planning Moz? Neal looked questionably at his phone. He then looked up at Peter and with an innocent face, he addressed Peter.

“I forgot my watch on my desk. I’m going to get it.”

“OK, be quick.”

Neal picked up pace, returning to the elevator. Peter turned around and walked between the other cars to his Taurus. The moment he was facing the door to open it, he felt a sting in his upper arm and the floor dropped from underneath him. He was out before he hit the ground. Mozzie quickly grabbed him under his arms and pulled him into the car. He got behind the wheel and drove off.

 

* * *

 

While de drove back to Thursday, Mozzie called time-traveller Peter who was waiting for him.

“Peter, please come down and help me.”

Peter walked down and made sure the large elevator that was located in the back of Tuesday was on ground level for whatever Mozzie had planned.

When he saw his own Taurus come around the corner, his heart rate increased. What have you done Mozzie?

 

Mozzie got out of the car and Peter peered in, there he was, by the looks off it, knocked out

“Mozzie! What did you do to him?”

“I sedated the other you with a powerful drug. He won’t remember anything. Now, change into the same clothes and drive back to the Federal building. Neal is waiting for you.”

“And then what?”

“You live this week again. Get with the program, Suit.”

Peter switched clothes with himself and drove back to the Federal building. Neal was waiting for him, with a confused look on his face.

“Where did you go?” Neal sounded a bit upset while he got into the car.

“I had to take care of something. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. Let’s go, I’ll drop you off at June’s.”

“Are you alright?” Neal glanced at Peter.

 

“Yeah, why would you ask?”

“You just invited me over for dinner at your place.”

“I’m sorry, of course you are invited.”

Neal gave him one more curious glance, but he remained quiet. Secretly breathing out in relief, Peter then drove the car to his and El’s house.

 

* * *

 

The days went by quicker than Peter expected them. The only problem was that he still didn’t remember why he came back. What was he supposed to stop? He frequently met with Mozzie to try to jog his memory, but he still hadn´t figured out why he came back.

 

Meanwhile, someone was trying to black mail him into releasing a mob boss, his whole team working on trying to find out whom was black mailing him.

Before he knew it, it was weekend. El had told him she had made reservations at a new restaurant she wanted to try. Peter tried to put the unease aside and enjoy his time out with El. They didn´t spend enough time together as it was, so eventually, he relaxed and enjoyed the evening.

The weekend passed before he knew it, and on Monday he drove to June´s to pick up Neal. The moment he saw Neal, the unease was back. Neal was supposed to go undercover, so maybe this was his gut telling him to abort the op.

Or was it just the fact that he couldn´t trust Neal, hadn´t Neal told him to prove that he had something to do with stealing the Nazi treasure?

 

 

The unease increased with the hours the. Something was about to happen, but what? It kept Peter awake that night. El worried about him, as the bags underneath his eyes had became more pronounced every day.

Sometimes he thought that Neal was on to him, giving him strange looks. And then there was the other Peter, who was kept sedated at Tuesday. Mozzie had assured him that his other self would have no ill effects from his prolonged chemical induced sleep. Mozzie had him on IVs with nutrients and fluids. Peter only hoped he could only trust Mozzie to know what he was doing.

 

Tuesday morning, Peter´s stomach was in a knot. The thought of breakfast made him sick. The feeling that something was imminent, increased. By the time Peter and Neal arrived at the office, even Neal had picked up on Peter´s stress.

“Are you okay, Peter? You seem really tense.”

“I´m fine, just an uneasy feeling. I guess it has to do with the undercover job. You´re sure you´re up for it?”

“Yeah, piece of cake.”

 

When Peter was called into a meeting with Hughes and Ruiz, he left Neal at his desk as he was working on some cold cases..Peter felt like he would jump out of his skin. Something was going to happen, but what? He wrecked his brain to remember. It drove him crazy. It was like wanting to say something that was on the tip of your tongue, but you couldn’t remember what you wanted to say.

He sat in Hughes’s office and wasn’t really paying attention, still trying to remember what would happen that gave him this eerie feeling.

Something inside him told him to check up on Neal. He got up, ignoring Hughes’s question and looked through the glass wall towards Neal’s desk, Neal was not there. His blood pressure spiked.

He walked out and wanted to descent the stairs, when he saw Neal in his own office. He walked up to the door and then noticed that he was holding some sort of envelope that Peter didn’t recognize.

“Hey Neal. What do you have there?”

Neal looked like a deer caught in head lights. The startled look was quickly replaced by a hurt look. Neal started to say something when the color drained from his face and he went down.

“Neal!”

Before he got to him, Neal hit his head on Peter’s desk, and Peter could barely catch him before Neal hit the ground. He eased Neal down and his eyes fell on the note in Neal’s hand.

The note. The blackmail.

Peter looked at Neal’s pale face and suddenly everything clicked into place, like an epiphany. He remembered. Neal was going to die!

“No, not this time!”

Peter grabbed his phone and called 911.

“This is Agent Burke from the FBI. I’m calling from the federal building. My coworker has been poisoned with aconite.”

When Diana rushed into the room, the ambulance was already on its way.

* * *

 

Neal was placed on a ventilator and the doctor that had come along with the EMT’s administered atropine, to treat the bradycardia the aconite caused. They rushed him over to Lennox Hill Hospital where he was admitted to the ICU.

Peter wanted to go after Neal, but was held back by Diana.

“Boss, how did you know what poison it was?” She looked him directly in the eye.

“When I caught Neal, I could smell the tangerine scent; it’s very distinctive, if you know it. It was a case they discussed in Quantico once.”

He didn’t even hesitate as the lie slipped off his tongue. Neal had taught him well.

Even if Diana thought to check his story, Peter honestly didn’t give a damn. He needed to know how Neal was doing. Could he be saved this time? He should have stopped him from reading the note. If he had been too late…

 

When Peter arrived at the hospital, the duty nurse asked him to wait in the waiting area and to fill in the paperwork, which Peter accepted. When everything as filled in, he returned the papers to the nurse and asked if she knew anything.

It was evident she was used to deal with stressed family members, because she stayed polite and told him that a doctor would come out as soon as there was news. Peter started to feel sick.,The last time he was standing here, the doctor had asked to come with him only to tell them that Neal had died in private. What if he hadn´t been in time? He couldn´t handle this a second time.

When a doctor came out and asked for the Caffrey family, Peter´s heart dropped. When he waved, the doctor walked over and shook his hand.

“How is Neal?” asked Peter immediately. Then he took in the doctor’s serious expression and he felt his hope slipping away.

“Aconite poisoning is very serious,” said the doctor. “We’re performing a hemoperfusion now. When we’r ready, we will closely monitor Mr. Caffrey’s blood pressure and cardiac rhythm…”

The doctor carried on, but Peter barely managed to stay on his feet. Suddenly he realized he had forgotten to breathe, and he inhaled deeply before uttering a small chuckle. He listened as the doctor explained that time made all the difference in cases like this. Since the toxin was almost immediately identified and the treatment had started within a few minutes, baring any complications, they expected that Neal would make a full recovery. As soon as they were done with the hemoperfusion and Neal was stable, he could receive visitors. For now the doctor suggested that he went home and rested himself.

“Are you okay, Mr. Burke?” asked the doctor suddenly.

Peter’s eyes were filled with tears of relief. “Yes. I’m okay, Better than okay. I’ve never been better.”

 

* * *

 

As soon as Peter knew that Neal was going to be fine, he knew he had to get in contact with Mozzie to find out how he could go back to his own universe.

Peter called Jones to arrange a protection detail outside the room and placed Mozzie on the approved visitor list. He then sent Mozzie a text message: “Neal’s OK, where can we meet?”

Mozzie replied almost immediately: “Come to Thursday.”

Peter hailed a cab and had himself dropped off a block from Thursday. He walked over and knocked at the door, where Mozzie was waiting for him.

“Neal is OK, he is in the ICU, but he will be OK. He’s at Lennox Hill if you want to visit him.”

Peter walked over to real time Peter, who was lying in a comfortable bed with multiple IVs.

“Peter, we have a problem. You will have to take your real time self with you or you will be creating paradox.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I will spare you all the details, but if real time Peter stays here and you travel to the future, there will be two Peter Burkes in the future. Heavens forbid,” Mozzie grumbled under his breath.

“So, what do you suggest?” Peter looked up at Mozzie.

“We take him with us, and you both enter the time travel machine at the same moment.”

“You are sure this will work?” Peter felt less and less confident about this whole deal.

“No, but as I see it, this is your only option.”

Peter looked a bit stricken.

“What is the matter?” Mozzie could see that Peter was hesitant.

“What if in my universe Neal is still dead?” Peter could feel the grief bubbling up again.

“No, by rescuing Neal in this universe, Neal will also OK in yours.” Mozzie was convinced of this and he could see that Peter wanted to believe.

“The reason for time is so that everything doesn´t happen at once.”

“You got me, who said that?”

“I just said it, suit.”

They both fell silent.

“Will you be the same Mozzie?” asked Peter suddenly.

“Of course I will, If you ever need anything…. You saved him Peter. Thank you” Mozzie gave Peter an awkward hug.

“OK, let’s do this. I trusted you before, now is not the time to start doubting this whole time traveling thing.”

 

Mozzie and Peter carried real time Peter to the Taurus and drove to the facility site. Mozzie left the car and leaned back in the door.

“Oh, I figured you can get you back the way you came. You came here, thinking it was the 12th, so you must have left on the 12th. As it is now the 11th, we will have to get you back to tomorrow.” Mozzie paused. “I’’m not FBI, so… you’ll have to go the rest of the way on your own, Good luck, Suit.”

“Thank you, Mozzie.”

Mozzie left and Peter was once again alone. He drove to the now familiar warehouse. When the guard asked him for his ID and badge, Peter had a sense of déjà-vu. He hoped that the guard wouldn’t ask to open his trunk. He wasn’t sure how he would explain himself laying in the back of his car.

Once inside, Peter quickly opened the trunk and with some effort lifted himself out of the trunk. He then carried himself in a fireman’s carry to rack 47, stack 12, row 6, quickly punched in May 12th 2010, and pushed open the door, the bright light now being familiar. He felt dizzy and swayed falling to his knees. What had happened?

“Are you all right, sir?” one of the warehouse employees approached him in concern.

Peter was helped to his feet and after a minute he felt better.

“What are you looking for?”

“I´m looking for an evidence box, it should be in rack 47, stack 12, row 5.”

The man smiled “You wanted to see for yourself?”

“What do you mean?” Peter was a confused.

“Oh, I´m sorry, it is sort of an urban legend around here, there is supposed to be time travelling machine stored in that lot.”

Urban legend?

Peter smiled. “Oh, my assistant must have mixed up the numbers then. I was looking for the Evidence box from the Neal Caffrey case.”

When they arrived at the dedicated spot, there was a big wooden box. The man opened the box and told Peter that this was evidence from another case.

“Well, I will check with my assistant, thanks for your help.”

When he left the building, his Taurus was waiting for him. Peter got into the car and sat for a moment, when all the grief suddenly returned. Neal was dead. How could he have forgotten that? He felt tears building up in his eyes, but manned up, he first have to get out of this facility. He could breakdown later in privacy.

 

While he was driving home, his phone rang. Peter took a deep breath before answering hoping that his voice would sound stable.

“Diana, what is up?”

“Something’s wrong, boss?”

“Why would you ask?”

“You left the hospital in a rush after giving Jones the order to arrange a protection detail. Is everything alright?”

“Hospital?”

“Peter, you OK?” Diana sounded suspicious by now.

Could it be? Had he changed the past? Peter thought it all had been a bad memory, his grief playing havoc with his memories.

“You are at Lennox, right?” he asked Diana.

“Yeah, do you want me to call El?”

“No, it’s alright, I will call her. Can you call June and Mozzie for me?”

“Mozzie was already here, well, I think. I saw a doctor that looked suspiciously like Mozzie.”

Peter started laughing, that sounded like Mozzie alright.

“I will be there in about an hour.” Peter said and disconnected the call.

Peter drove to the safe house where El was staying when this whole case went south and explained to her what had happened.

 

* * *

 

They drove to Lennox Hill Hospital and Peter was glad to see that Diana herself sat outside Neal’s room . As long as they didn’t know which of Albero’s men had sent the poisoned letter, they all were in danger of a new attempt.

Peter asked the duty nurse how Neal was, and the nurse explained that the hemoperfusion had worked and they had been able to flush most of the toxins out of Neal’s blood. Neal was showing signs of breathing by himself, so the medical staff was monitoring him closely.

When they entered the room, Peter was shocked to see how pale Neal was Peter could hear and see that Neal’s heart rate was a bit high.

“He will be OK, Mozzie,” said Peter.

El looked up as they were the only two people in the room, apart from Neal. But then, from around the corner, Mozzie appeared in the door.

“How did you know I was there, Suit?”

“Because he is your best friend and you need to be here as well.”

They sat down and started their vigil. Somewhere during the night, Peter woke. He wasn’t sure why he had woken; until he noticed that Neal’s heart monitor had picked up pace. He looked next to him, but Mozzie’s seat had been vacated and El was fast asleep. When he looked at Neal, he saw that Neal had his eyes open, they weren’t really focused, but he was awake.

“Welcome back Neal,” Peter said quietly.

Neal blinked a few times and closed his eyes again. Before Peter could push the nurse call button, the night nurse came in, to see what was going on.

“Did Mister Caffrey regain consciousness? I saw his heart rate increase,” said the nurse quietly.

“Yes, he did.” Peter gave her a big smile.

The nurse noted something in the computer next to Neal’s bed, and checked all the IVs before leaving the room again.

 

* * *

 

Somewhere in the afternoon of the next day, Neal became more agitated and the doctor decided it was time to get Neal of the vent. Peter was asked to leave to room and by the time he was let back in, Neal was fast asleep again. The doctor reassured Peter that Neal would be OK before tending to the next patient.

Peter took Neal’s hand in his and told Neal how glad he was that he was OK. And that he did trust Neal, even though his gut told him that Neal had the treasure.

Peter startled when he felt a squeeze in his hand. He looked up and saw Neal looking at him.

“You’re safe, Neal, go back to sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

Neal’s eyes shut again after another weak squeeze.

Over the days, Neal had more awake moments and was more lucid, slowly remembering what had gotten him into hospital. He was transferred to the general ward with his protection detail.

 

* * *

 

 

A week later, Peter arrived at the hospital and immediately saw that the guard outside Neal’s room was gone. He ran into the room and Neal was not there. The nurse desk was also unoccupied and Peter feared the worst. He walked back, looking for medical staff, when he heard a giggling coming from the nurse break room.

When he entered it, Neal was sitting in a wheelchair with the probie who was assigned to him and four nurses around him, all giggling.

Peter cleared his throat and all looked to him, the nurses, quickly going back to work and the probie getting up and grabbing the handles of the wheelchair.

“I see that you are feeling better?” Peter said mockingly stern.

“I can’t help it that ladies wanted to spoil us with some cake.” Neal pointed at the cake that was on the table.

“Only you Caffrey, could come back from the dead and be treated with cake.” Peter turned to the probie. “Bring him back to his room, please.”

The probie grabbed the wheelchair again and pushed Neal back to his room. Peter helped him get back in the bed and sat down. When Neal was settled in his bed, Peter spoke up.

“You know, I´m glad you´re OK.” Peter hesitated.

“I´m fine.”

“I really missed you when you were gone. I …” Peter swallowed.

“Well, I wasn´t really gone, the doctors told me that I will be OK.” Neal tried to lighten the mood as he sensed that Peter was getting a bit overwhelmed.

“I mean, I would really miss you, if you would be gone, you are important to me. You´re family, you know that, right?”

“I like you too Peter, but come on, tell me about the case.” Neal diverted the conversation. He considered Peter family, but he had to protect Mozzie and the treasure.

Peter laughed relieved and started explaining that they had a break in the case against Damiano Albero. The partial fingerprint that was found on the ransom note turned out to be from a man called Tony Crespo,who happened to be Albero’s first lieutenant. Now that they could link the note to Albero, they just have to lean a bit more on Crespo. Peter was hopeful that they could close this case quickly.

“Rest Neal, I will take care of Albero and you take care of getting better.”

 

* * *

 

Two weeks later, the FBI had the confession they needed and the case against Damiano Albero could be closed and send over to the prosecutor’s office. Neal had since left the hospital and was still on medical leave until he gained his strength.

And Peter, he was still contemplating how he could prove that Neal had the treasure.

 


End file.
